The Elemental Hero
by sparkydragon98
Summary: This is the story of a boy who wants to be a Hero more than anything. Despite an incident with villains at a young age and new powers, he won't let anything stop him from achieving his dream! Sorry, I couldn't think of much more to add here. Slight crossover with Pokemon. Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Pokemon; they belong to their respective companies.
1. How It All Begins

**Hello, everybody! Guess who's got two thumbs and is coming at you with a brand new story? THIS GUY!**

**Welcome to the first chapter of my new My Hero Academia fanfiction, The Elemental Hero! This is a My Hero Academia fanfiction, but I've added some elements from, surprise surprise, pokemon. I've been super excited to start this fanfiction for a while, and now I'm finally ready! I hope you guys enjoy the start of a new story!**

* * *

Chapter 1 – How It All Begins

This world used to be a normal one until several decades ago, when a newborn baby was found to be literally glowing, radiating a bright light across the room. As time passed, these odd powers started to become more and more common, and while it threw the world into chaos at first, over time it became completely commonplace to see some with some sort of power, which became known as a "Quirk."

With the rise of superpowers came the introduction of a brand-new profession, one that was previously only dreamt of: Hero work! Though it required a license as new laws dictated that Quirks weren't allowed to be used in public otherwise, many people with Quirks stepped up to put them to good use by stopping others who used their new gifts for more nefarious purposes.

Currently, 80% of the world's population possessed some kind of Quirk. It was unknown _how_ they came about, but there seemed to be a recurring pattern for _when_ they came: they usually manifested in children who had reached the age of 4. Though there were some instances of "late bloomers" – kids who unlocked their Quirks many years later, the majority of people gained their Quirks after they turned 4.

Therefore, many children were incredibly excited to reach the age of 4, as they couldn't wait to gain a superpower of their own. And with two children in particular, well, this is where the story begins.

"Come on! You can't catch me!"

In a park in the Niigata Prefecture, two kids were running around: a boy and a girl. The girl had brown hair and sky blue eyes, and was wearing a pink dress with white spots, while the boy had on a black shirt to match his spiky, black hair and blue shorts.

The two kids were running around the park, playing a game of Tag. The boy was currently "It" and so was chasing after the girl, who was giggling as she ran away from him.

"Come on, Chika! You'll have to move faster than that if you wanna catch me!" the girl teased as she looked over her shoulder at her friend.

The boy grinned in response. "Oh, I'll definitely move faster, Fura!" he retorted, moving to increase his speed in the hopes of tagging his friend.

What neither of them expected, however, was the bright white light that surrounded his body followed by the sudden burst of speed that pushed the boy forward. Fura barely had time to widen her eyes in surprise as the boy barreled directly into her, causing the two to tumble across the ground.

As the two kids lay there groaning in pain with swirling eyes, an adult with short, brown hair and black eyes ran up to them. "Chikara! Fura! Are you two okay?" he asked worriedly.

The boy, Chikara, looked up, dazed. "Yeah, I'm fine Uncle Taka, at least I think so." Slowly, he gathered his bearings as he stood up, helping his friend to her feet. "What just happened?"

Having confirmed that the two children were okay, Taka's worry changed to excitement and he grinned. "Well bud, it looked like a white light that surrounded your body and boosted your speed. Do you know what that means?"

Immediately, any lingering feeling of pain left the boy as he became ecstatic. "I finally got my Quirk!" he yelled happily. Chikara had just turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and was waiting for his own Quirk to manifest, and it looked like it had finally happened. "Awesome!" he cheered.

"Yeah!" Fura agreed. She had only turned 4 a week ago and was still waiting for her own Quirk. "I can't wait for my Quirk to manifest! Then we can play with our Quirks together!"

"Totally!" Chikara turned to his uncle. "Can we go home and show mom and dad?"

"Well, I doubt they're back from work yet, but we can wait for them if you like." At the young boy's nod, Taka smiled. "Then let's drop Fura off at her house and head home."

* * *

Half an hour later, Chikara and Taka were at their house, waiting for the former's parents to come back from work. It was about 10 minutes later that the door opened and in stepped Chikara's dad and mom.

"Daddy! Mommy!" Chikara shouted with joy as he ran forward to hug them.

"Hey Jin, Suya!" Taka greeted. "How was work today?"

"Hey there, sport! Work was pretty much the same old, same old. No strong villains attacked at all!" Jin said as he received the hug and placed a hand on his son's head. In his other hand he held a helmet, with two small horns on the sides, that was a part of his Hero costume. The rest of his costume consisted of a black and red bodysuit along with black leather combat boots.

His mom, Suya, laughed as Chikara hugged her next. "Yup! Nothing too difficult for the Hero duo of Speed Demon and Strong Arm!" Just like her husband, she wore a bodysuit, though the color scheme was brown and blue instead of red and black. She also wore armored gauntlets and metal boots.

Chikara beamed at their words. Just as they said, Jin and Suya Sokudo were a Pro Hero duo, one of the most powerful and popular, despite their relatively simple Quirks.

"Guess what, Dad? I got my Quirk today! It's just like yours!" Chikara revealed excitedly.

His dad's grin got wider at that while his mom scoffed playfully. "Is that so? Well, congratulations!" Jin said. "Do you think you can show it to us?"

"Uh-huh!" the black-haired boy nodded. He stepped back and tried to remember the feeling he felt earlier when he first unlocked his Quirk. Much to everyone's surprise and confusion, however, when Chikara activated it, a red aura encompassed his body instead.

"Wow, that is amazing," Suya began, "but I thought you said you had your father's Quirk, honey. That's my Quirk." Of course, she was secretly happy to see him use her power, not that she'd admit it out loud.

Chikara was just as mystified. "I did! I was sure that it was Dad's Quirk! Uncle Taka saw it, too!"

"He's right," Taka confirmed.

"Hmmm… it seems a trip to the doctor is in order for tomorrow," Jin spoke up. "We'll get to the bottom of this, bud."

* * *

"Hmm… how peculiar indeed," the doctor mused.

It was now the next day, Saturday, and Chikara's parents had taken him to a doctor to find out what exactly his Quirk was. The man in question was currently studying at some readings of the little kid with great interest.

After a few more minutes, the doctor turned to the other two adults. "Could you two please tell me your Quirks?"

"Sure," Jin said with a nod. "My Quirk simply increases my body's speed. Everything gets faster for me; my reflexes and my body's healing processes included, not just my overall speed." He demonstrated by activating his Quirk, white light surrounding his body.

Suya went next. "My Quirk allows me to boost my strength exponentially," she explained as she held up her arm, a red aura surrounding the limb.

The doctor hummed as he looked at Chikara's readings again. "As you know, when it comes to a child manifesting their Quirk, it usually ends up being that of one of their parents, or on the rare occasion, a total mutation nothing like either of the parents' Quirks. However, there is another outcome that is almost as rare." He gazed back up at the family. "It would seem that your son here has _both_ of your Quirks."

All three stared at him in shock. "Are you serious?!" the brown-haired man exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm positive," the doctor replied. "These readings indicate that he has more than one Quirk, and you even said that you saw him use more than one, correct?"

Jin and Suya looked at each other in surprise. Before they could say anything, though, Chikara cheered happily. "That means I can be a Hero like both of you!"

At that, the parents' looks of surprise went away and they smiled at their son warmly. "That's right, Chikara. You'll make an excellent Hero one day," the black-haired woman told him.

"We'll be sure to teach you everything we know!" Jin said. He and his wife looked at the doctor and bowed. "Thank you for your help, doctor."

The man smiled. "Not a problem."

Jin smiled back before he turned to his son again. "Now what do you say we celebrate with some ice cream, Chikara?"

"Yay!"

The family of three walked out of the room, leaving the doctor there all by himself. He stood in place for a few moments before walking over to the wall where his phone was. Picking it off the receiver, he dialed in a number and waited for an answer. Once he got one, he spoke.

"Sir? I think I may have found a good one."

* * *

"Hm, so this is my new school…" a black-haired boy mused as he stared at the front entrance of the school in question, Aldrea Junior High. After a few seconds of taking it in, he walked in and observed his surroundings, seeing the relatively bland interior and otherwise normal-looking environment. Of course, that excluded the students, whose appearances differed in various ways; no two students looked alike. '_Still, this place doesn't seem like the kind of place that would grab a lot of attention,_' he thought as he walked down the hallway. '_Good._'

"Oi Deku…"

The boy stopped when he heard the growl. Glancing to his left, he saw a trio of boys cornering another boy against some lockers. The boy in front had spiky, ash-blond hair, while the two behind him had black and brown hair. The boy being cornered had green and black hair.

"O-Oh, h-hey Kacchan!" the green-haired boy stuttered out nervously.

Ignoring his greeting, the blond narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you really still going on about that?!"

As the blond boy yelled at his victim, the boy with black hair continued to walk past them, keeping watch out of the corner of his eye. "_Another person who feels they can bully other people just because they have a strong Quirk. I'll let the other boy fight back to see what Quirk he has and if I should step in._"

"W-Well… yeah, Kacchan," the nervous boy replied. "It's my dream, after all."

A moderate explosion erupted from the blond's hand, startling the boy. "You're never going to be able to accomplish that dream! You Quirkless loser!"

Upon hearing that, the black-haired boy stopped walking completely.

The blond's palms started glowing as smoke wafted off of them. "Now how about I remind you of your place?" he said menacingly. The green-haired boy closed his eyes as he cowered in fear.

Izuku Midoriya was not having a good first day. It had started out well enough while he was at home, but things quickly took a turn once he made it to school. He had just been standing by his locker and thinking to himself about how he was one step closer to hopefully achieving his dream.

Unfortunately, Midoriya had a bad habit of muttering what he was thinking out loud when he was concentrating on something hard enough. As he was currently thinking about his dream of becoming a Pro Hero, he was also muttering it. And it was then that he learned that his old childhood friend Bakugo was also at the school.

With his back against the wall and his former friend about to dish out a beating, this was _not_ how Midoriya wanted to start off his first day at school.

"Ow!"

To his surprise, however, the first cry of pain did not come from him. Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of the other two boys holding their heads and glaring at each other.

"What'd you do that for?! Me?! That was all you!" the two yelled at one another.

Annoyed, Bakugo took his attention off of Midoriya and whirled around to face the duo. "What the hell is wrong with you two?!"

"He started it!" the two shouted as they pointed at one another.

"Well, you better shut up or I'm going to end it!" Bakugo retorted, holding up a glowing palm for emphasis. That made his two lackeys quiet down quickly. "That's better. Now, where were we, Deku…?" He turned back to face his victim… only to see that said victim was no longer in front of him

Bakugo said nothing at first, just twitching in place until he finally exploded, both figuratively and literally. "Dammit Deku, are you trying to piss me off even more?! When I find you, I'm gonna kill you!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Midoriya found himself in a different situation than normal. One minute he was being bullied by Bakugo, the next he was somehow being pulled away when the blond's attention was diverted. He couldn't see the thing that pulled him away, he just felt that it was long and thin as it wrapped around his mouth and torso.

The unfamiliar object pulled him into an empty classroom, and before he could get a good look at it, it swiftly vanished back to the source. Taking a look, Midoriya could see that whatever had grabbed him belonged to a boy his age. He wore a school uniform and had black hair, but his most distinguishing feature was the pair of purple sunglasses he wore over his eyes.

Midoriya was confused by the boy's actions, fearing that he took him away from Bakugo just to do something even worse. "Um… did you just h-help me?" he inquired nervously.

The boy said nothing at first, only staring at him; at least, Midoriya assumed he was looking in his direction since he couldn't see his eyes. After some time, though, the boy nodded. "Yeah, I did." He started walking toward the exit of the classroom. "You're welcome."

"O-Oh right, t-thanks!" the green-haired boy stammered as he bowed appreciatively. "B-But, um… why did you help me?" At his question, the other boy stopped walking. Thinking he'd offended him, Midoriya started waving his arms around frantically. "N-Not that I-I'm being ungrateful or anything l-like that! I-It's j-just that, well…" Midoriya lowered his head sadly. "Nobody's ever bothered to help me out when they learned I'm Quirkless…"

"I'm aiming to be a Hero. Heroes save anyone who needs help," the boy spoke up suddenly, stunning Midoriya. "Also, I hate bullies." And with that, he resumed walking.

Midoriya stared at his savior in awe. Here was someone who helped him out despite his Quirklessness, something which made everyone either avoid him or pick on him. And he wanted to be a Hero, just like him. Finally finding his voice, the green-haired boy spoke up again. "My name is Izuku Midoriya! What's your name?"

The black-haired boy paused once again; after a few seconds, he answered his question. "Chikara Sokudo." Then he left the room.

* * *

School passed by, and eventually, it was time for all of the students to return home. Midoriya was one of such students. After packing up his stuff, he walked out of his classroom and headed toward the exit of the school.

It was once he stepped outside that he felt a hand unexpectedly clap itself onto his shoulder.

"I don't believe we finished our business earlier, _Deku_," Bakugo growled.

"K-Kacchan!" Midoriya squeaked as he started to sweat. After meeting the new boy who had helped him, Sokudo, his day had been going well enough. He should have known that wouldn't last, especially considering how angry Bakugo had gotten after he had been pulled away.

The green-haired boy was turned around so he could see the furious expression on Bakugo's face. "Now before I pummel you, you're going to tell me how you managed to get away from me without me noticing," he stated.

"O-Oh, u-um, well, you see—" However, before Midoriya could actually answer, he felt a hand grip his arm. He could only blink in confusion before he found himself being pulled away from the angry blond.

Predictably, the angry blond in question was not happy about that. "Hey, you bastard! Stop right there!" he yelled.

The boy he was yelling at was none other than Sokudo, who had stepped in to keep Midoriya from getting hurt. Once he heard Bakugo yell at him, he stopped walking.

Midoriya, on the other hand, was surprised. He hadn't really expected to see his savior after that morning, yet here he was, helping him again. However, he was now worried about what would happen now. Given Bakugo's violent disposition, it was highly likely that this confrontation could turn into a fight. Bakugo's Explosion Quirk was plenty powerful, but he had no idea what Sokudo's Quirk was or how strong it was, so he had no way of knowing if it would be enough—

"Is this like a habit of yours?" Sokudo addressed him with a raised eyebrow. Midoriya's face became red as he realized that he had gone off on a muttering spree again.

"S-Sorry…" he apologized.

"Don't ignore me!" Bakugo barked, reminding them that he was still there while his raised voice grabbed attention from other students nearby. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Sokudo. "What the hell do you think you're doing with Deku?"

Sokudo raised a brow at him before deducing that "Deku" was his own nickname for Midoriya. "What's it to you?" he questioned.

Bakugo held up one hand, sparks dancing in his palm in an attempt to intimidate the other boy. "We have some unfinished business," he said. Much to his dismay, Sokudo didn't even flinch a little.

"I see. Well, sorry to cut into your business, but I'm not going to let you bully some defenseless kid," Sokudo retorted.

Bakugo's eyes hardened as the sparks got louder. "Are you really going to defend a Quirkless reject like Deku?"

"Yes, I am," he answered without missing a beat. "Because I want to be a Hero." His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the blond bully. "With that attitude of yours, I guess I can't say the same for you."

Bakugo's eyes widened at that before he glowered at Sokudo. "That does it! I'll kill you first, then!" He ran toward the black-haired boy, his right hand raised to strike.

"N-No, Kacchan!" Midoriya cried.

Sokudo didn't react other than raising his left arm, and everyone watched in amazement as it was surrounded in a red aura, though only Midoriya's eyes widened in recognition. Bakugo's hand collided with it and exploded, but when the smoke from his blast faded, it showed that the arm was unmoved and Sokudo was uninjured.

"What?!" Bakugo exclaimed.

Sokudo looked at the blond. "I'm not looking for a fight here, just leave us alone."

Bakugo growled. "Oh yeah?! Well, take this!" He swung his other hand, catching Sokudo in the face. The explosion that followed made him stumble back a few steps and knocked his glasses off his face.

Bakugo smirked as he managed to land a hit, but it soon disappeared when he saw the other boy simply standing there with his face turned downward. After a few seconds, he lifted his face and opened his eyes…

…revealing glowing red orbs that glared at Bakugo.

The bully's eyes widened in utter shock at the intense glare that almost seemed to stare into his soul. He, like everybody else who saw it, couldn't help but take a few involuntary steps back.

Sokudo closed his eyes as he bent over to pick up his glasses. Once they were back on his face, he simply said, "That's what I thought," before he left, grabbing a stunned Midoriya's arm and pulling him away from the school.

* * *

Once the two were a far enough distance from the school, Sokudo let go of Midoriya's arm and began walking away without a word. "W-Wait!" the latter called before he bowed to the former. "T-Thank you for your help again!"

"Yeah, whatever," Sokudo responded as he continued to walk away.

"H-Hold on…" the green-haired boy mumbled. "Y-Your Quirk… it's a lot like the retired Pro Strong Arm's Quirk…" At that, Sokudo stopped in place. "Y-You wouldn't happen to b-be… related to her, would you?"

"…" The silence stretched on as Sokudo didn't move a muscle. Finally, after a minute, he slightly turned to face Midoriya. "You must be one hell of a Hero nut to be able to tell from just a glance and immediately place it. Yes, Strong Arm is my mom." He turned around fully. "And it shouldn't be too hard to realize that Speed Demon is my dad."

Midoriya became starry-eyed at the confirmation. "Wow, that's so awesome! Those two made such an amazing team! It really was a shame to hear when they retired. Do you know why?"

As Midoriya spoke of the two, a small smile could be seen on Sokudo's face. However, when he asked that question, it disappeared without a trace. He instantly turned his back on the green-haired boy. "I don't want to talk about it," he said coldly. He walked away without waiting for a response.

Midoriya stood there in confusion, watching the retreating form of the black-haired boy. Clearly, whatever caused the retirement of the popular Hero duo was sensitive to their son. Yet despite the coldness in his voice…

'_He sounded like… he was in pain,_' Midoriya thought.

* * *

Over the course of the next two weeks, Sokudo continued going to school normally. However, he had gained something of a reputation since the first day.

After seeing the way he handled Bakugo, most of the students were too afraid to approach him. The few that did approach him attempted to talk to him, but he simply ignored them, and eventually, they stopped trying. All except for one.

Midoriya continued trying to talk to Sokudo, despite the fact that he never responded back. The green-haired boy would talk about lots of different things, all revolving around Quirks and Heroes. Though he didn't show it outwardly, the black-haired boy was secretly impressed by Midoriya's Hero Knowledge and Quirk analyzing skills, but mostly puzzled as to why Midoriya kept coming back.

After two weeks had passed, Sokudo finally spoke to him while they walked down an empty hallway, interrupting his chatter about some Hero who lived close by with a question. "Why is it that you keep coming back to talk to me?" he asked suddenly.

Midoriya was understandably startled, not sure if the other boy would ever want to talk to him. He calmed down quickly as he answered. "B-Because… back when we last spoke two weeks ago, y-you sounded like something was hurting you," he admitted. "I-I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to see if I could help in any way…"

Sokudo had to admit, he was pretty surprised. He figured that if someone managed to learn exactly who his parents were, they'd probably try to get close to him in order to get something from him. Yet Midoriya simply wanted to help him. '_This kid…_' he thought.

"After all, a Hero helps out those in need of it, right?" the green-haired boy finished with a nervous smile.

His last statement really caught Sokudo's attention. "A Hero, huh? So you want to be a Hero?" '_Weird… didn't both he and the angry boy say he was Quirkless?_'

Midoriya flinched slightly. "Y-Yeah, I do. It's been my dream since I was little…"

"Even though you don't have a Quirk?"

This time, his flinch was more noticeable as he looked down glumly. "Yeah, i-it's true I don't have a Quirk…" He looked up and stared at Sokudo with determination. "But I won't give up because of it! I've always dreamed of being a Hero like All Might, someone who can save others with a smile on my face!"

Though Midoriya couldn't see it, Sokudo's eyes had grown wide at his declaration. '_He wants to become a Hero… despite his Quirklessness… just to help people?_' He looked down as he started shaking.

"I-I know that it'll be even harder for me to be a Hero since I don't have a Quirk, but I—" The green-haired boy was cut off when Sokudo suddenly abruptly started laughing. Flinching again, Midoriya initially thought that he was laughing at him for dreaming of such a thing, thinking it couldn't be done, and he couldn't help but feel saddened at that.

Then Sokudo raised his head and Midoriya saw the smile on his face. Not a mocking smile, but a hearty one. "Well, if you're really willing to put in all the hard work, then I think you just might be able to pull it off, Midoriya!" he said.

Midoriya couldn't believe his ears. Was he actually… encouraging him? "W-What?" he stuttered as his eyes watered.

"I think that with your determination, and a lot of hard work… that you can be a Hero, Midoriya."

And just like that, the waterworks began. Tears poured down Midoriya's face as he struggled to stay on his feet. Sokudo watched, feeling a bit awkward, but reasoned that this likely might have been the first time someone said something positive to him.

After a few minutes, Midoriya's crying slowed and he rubbed his face to wipe away his tears. "S-Sorry about that. It's just… no one's ever told me that, not even my mom. Everyone's always made fun of me and said I couldn't do it, and deep down, I was starting to believe them… But now I'm going to keep moving forward! I'll be the greatest Hero in the world!" the green-haired boy declared.

Sokudo couldn't help but smile at that. '_Wow, he's very passionate about his dream. He'd make a great Hero,_" he thought.

Once his eyes were finally dry, Midoriya beamed at the black-haired boy. "Thanks so much, Sokudo!"

"No problem," he replied. "Now come on, we're gonna be late for class."

"R-Right!"

And thus, a friendship was born that day.

* * *

**And finished! Wow, this was a bit tougher to write than I initially thought it would be! But there you go, Chapter 1 of my new story, The Elemental Hero!**

**As you all can see, just like my other stories, this one features a new OC: Chikara Sokudo. As you've seen, he has two Quirks: super strength and super speed. And maybe something else… But that's something else for another day!**

**Yes, his parents were Pro Heroes, but now they're retired. Why? That will be revealed later on.**

**Sokudo and Midoriya have met and are now friends! Whatever problem Sokudo was having, it looks like Midoriya stepped in and did what he does best: help people. I wonder what kind of effect will this have on the future?**

**Well, that'll be all for now. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I'm starting on the next one, which will start off canon!**

**Remember to favorite, follow, and review! Sparky D., out!**


	2. The Path to Becoming a Hero

**Hello, happy readers! Who's ready for Chapter 2? I am so massively sorry for the insanely long wait! I'll explain why at the end. It seems the first chapter was well received, which is excellent news! You'll like this one even more, as it reveals other bits of information about our new favorite pair of friends! First, let's answer some reviews:**

**StrikerTj: Thank you! I hope I don't disappoint!**

**Professor Writer: Hey, man! Good to see you're still kicking!**

**Thanks! That's just what I was going for with Sokudo!**

**Yep, you can bet others will have a pretty tough time trying to antagonize him, especially Bakugo!**

**You got that right!**

**Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy this one as well!**

**Vuldrog: Oh, nice guess! However, I can neither confirm nor deny your statement. You'll just have to wait and see!**

**There will be no Kaioken in my story. This isn't DBZ.**

**Thanks!**

**Author Of Purpose: Ordinarily you'd be right. However, keep in mind that just because we're quarantined doesn't mean I don't have school anymore. I currently am in college, which doesn't leave me a lot of time to work on it. Add on to the fact that I still have to go to work and you can probably understand why it took so long to write this chapter.**

**Now here's Chapter 2!**

* * *

Chapter 2 – The Path to Becoming a Hero

It was a beautiful spring day. People were walking along, going about their day. Many people were heading to different places, be it work, somewhere to eat, or, in the case of a certain green-haired teen, school.

Izuku Midoriya was running to school with a smile on his face. He had heard about a villain rampaging around Tatooine Station and had hurried to check it out. The boy was happy he did because he ended up getting to see some awesome Pros in action, as well as the debut of an all-new Hero who went by the name of Mt. Lady. He couldn't wait to get to school to tell his friend all about it.

Midoriya smiled wider as he thought about that. It had been two years since he and Sokudo became friends, and he never thought he would have another since he was declared Quirkless and Kacchan started bullying him. Yet here he was with a new friend who didn't care that he didn't have a Quirk and who actually believed that he could achieve his dream. In fact, he was even helping him to accomplish it.

* * *

_Flashback—_

_It was a month after Midoriya and Sokudo officially became friends. Ever since he started regularly hanging around the green-haired boy willingly, the other students began to dislike him even more, thinking he must be lame for wanting to be around someone who was Quirkless._

_Even so, the bullying on Midoriya lessened thanks to Sokudo, who scared away anyone who tried to pick on him. Even Bakugo bothered him less, opting to send him violent glowers instead._

_At the moment, the two friends were leaving school. Midoriya was, as usual, animatedly talking about Heroes, but this time, Sokudo wasn't hiding how impressed he was at the other boy's analysis skills. If he didn't know any better, he'd say this was Midoriya's Quirk._

_Midoriya reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook with "Hero Analysis for the Future No. 11" written on the cover. "Check it out! I have more info on other Heroes! I like to write down notes about Heroes' Quirks and how they work. Take a look!" He gave the notebook to his friend._

_Sokudo accepted it and browsed through it, surprised at the detailed accounts. It was simply astounding! Yet, as he looked through the notebook, a frown slowly made its way onto his face._

_Midoriya noticed this. "H-Hey, what's wrong?" he inquired._

_Sokudo closed the book and handed it back to its owner. "Look Midoriya, it's good that you're so analytical; it means that you're highly intelligent." The green-haired boy blushed at his praise. "However... that alone won't help you in a fight."_

"_Huh?"_

"_You want to be a Hero like All Might, correct?" the black-haired boy asked his friend, receiving a nod in return. "Well, you realize you're gonna have to be able to fight, right? Intelligence alone won't help you win in combat. Do you know how to fight?"_

"_Oh, uh… not really, no," Midoriya mumbled disappointedly, knowing that his friend was right. He started when he felt Sokudo place a hand on his shoulder._

"_I thought as much," Sokudo said. "Follow me, I know someone who can help." He ran off, leaving Midoriya to catch up with him._

_A few minutes later, the two boys were standing in front of a two-story house. It was white with a red roof with two windows on the front wall, one on each side. There was also a dirt path that led to the front door with a small garden on either side._

_Midoriya couldn't help but be surprised. "Is this… your house, Sokudo?" he asked._

"_Yep," the other boy answered as he walked along the path to the door. "Come on."_

_The two reached the front door, and Sokudo unlocked and opened it, letting the two of them in. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!"_

_The inside of the house was quite spacious. There was a large sofa in the living room, which was a short distance from the kitchen and the dining room, and two smaller seats: a loveseat and a chair. In the dining room was a table with four chairs. In between the living and dining rooms was a hallway with a staircase leading upward, presumably to where the bedrooms were._

_On the loveseat sat Sokudo's parents, Jin and Suya Sokudo, both of them reading a book. They looked up when they saw their son walk in and smiled at him._

"_Welcome home, son! How was your day at school?" his father asked before he noticed Sokudo wasn't alone. "Oh? I didn't know you were bringing a friend over."_

"_Is this that boy you told us about before? The one who you said has a great chance at becoming a Hero?" his mom questioned._

_Midoriya blushed at that while Sokudo answered. "Yeah, this is him. Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya, meet my parents."_

"_It's r-really nice to meet you two! You were incredible Pro Heroes!" the green-haired boy said as he bowed._

"_Oh, thank you, Midoriya," Suya said as she smiled at him. "Not too many people remember us from back then."_

"_I told you he was a Hero nerd," Sokudo said, making Midoriya flush even harder. "Anyway, is Uncle Taka here?"_

"_Oh yeah, he's out back," Jin informed him._

"_Thanks, dad. Come on, Midoriya."_

_Sokudo led Midoriya out the back door and into the backyard, which was quite spacious. There were 5 thick trees spaced evenly and a small lake in front of them. Sitting by the edge of the lake was Taka._

"_Hey, Uncle Taka!" Sokudo called, making the adult turn to him._

"_Ah, Chikara. Who's your friend?" Taka inquired once he caught sight of the other boy._

"_This is Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya, this is my uncle, Taka Sokudo."_

"_Pleasure to meet you, Midoriya," Taka said with a smile. "What brings you here?"_

"_Um, Sokudo brought me here, though I'm not sure why…" Midoriya muttered._

_The brown-haired adult turned to his nephew, who started speaking. "Uncle Taka, I brought him here because I wanted you to teach him how to fight."_

_Both of them looked at the black-haired boy in surprise. "Really, Chikara? I wasn't expecting that," Taka admitted._

_Midoriya, on the other hand, looked slightly excited. "Whoa, your uncle knows how to fight? So cool! Was he a Pro Hero, too? What's his Quirk?!"_

_Taka blinked at his enthusiasm before he started to chuckle. "Well, you certainly are excitable," he commented, making the green-haired boy blush. "But to answer your question, I never became a Pro because I'm Quirkless."_

_At that, Midoriya's eyes grew wide as his excitement died down. "You're… Quirkless?" he repeated. Things were beginning to fall into place for him._

"_That's right," Sokudo told him before he faced his uncle again. "Uncle Taka, Midoriya here has some big dreams of becoming a Hero just like All Might, even though he's also Quirkless." Taka's eyes widened when he heard that. "He's got quite a brilliant mind, but he doesn't know how to fight. I already know how good you are at fighting, so could you please teach him?"_

_Taka said nothing for a few seconds as he looked at the ground, and then he finally spoke up. "So you want to be a Hero even though you're Quirkless… you've got guts, kid. I wish I could've been more like you…" He looked up with a wide grin on his face. "Of course I'll teach you how to fight, Midoriya! You can count on me!"_

_The two boys smiled before Midoriya bowed appreciatively. "Thank you, sir! I promise to do my best!"_

* * *

For the next two years, Taka trained Midoriya by teaching him Karate. It took some time for the green-haired teen to catch on to, but now he was pretty adept at it. He'd also gained a slight bit of muscle; nothing noticeable, but he wasn't as scrawny as before. He had also gotten a bit more confident than before, though he still had his moments of nervousness and stuttering, usually around Bakugo.

After a few minutes, he finally made it to school, where he saw Sokudo standing at the front door, waiting for him. The black-haired teen smiled as he saw his friend approaching. "See anything good?" he asked once Midoriya was within range.

"You bet!" Midoriya exclaimed as the two began heading to class. "There were quite a few Pros there, and a new Hero made her debut! She calls herself Mt. Lady, and she seems to have some sort of Gigantification Quirk."

Sokudo hummed. "I see. You'll have to tell me all about it after school, then. Come on." With that, the two entered their classroom and sat in their respective seats.

After some time, the teacher walked in and class began. School carried on as it normally did, with the students carrying on with their day as they usually did. Finally, all of the students were in their final class. Their teacher came in, but unlike the previous teacher, this one came in with a stack of papers.

"So…" he began, placing the stack on his desk. "Now that you're all third-year students, it's time to start thinking about what you want to do in the future! I could pass out some career aptitude tests, but why bother?" He picked up his papers, and his students seemed to know what was about to happen next.

The teacher tossed the papers into the air with a jolly smile on his face. "You all want to be Heroes, don't you?!" In response, all the students started showing off their Quirks, with three exceptions. "Yes, I know you have impressive Quirks, but they're not allowed to be used at school."

"Hey teach, don't lump me in with these rejects," the arrogant voice of Katsuki Bakugo spoke up. "I'm the real deal, but these guys will be lucky enough to end up as sidekicks!"

The majority of the class was understandably angry at him for that remark. "You think you're better than us, Katsuki?!" they figuratively exploded.

"Come on, I'll fight all of you!" the blond goaded.

The teacher looked at his notes. "Well, you have good test results. Maybe you will get into U.A. High," he commented.

The class gasped when they heard he was attempting to get into U.A.

"He's aiming for the national school?!"

"That school has a 0.2% acceptance rate!"

"It's impossible to get into!"

Bakugo's smirk continued to grow as he heard everyone talk. "That's exactly why it's the only place worthy of me!" he stated as he jumped onto his desk. "I aced all the mock tests! I'm the only one at this school who stands a chance at getting in! I'll be even more popular than All Might! People all across the world will know my name, and it all starts at U.A. High!"

Sokudo rolled his eyes at the blond's rant. '_With his attitude, he'll never be more popular than All Might,_' he thought. Not to mention, Bakugo wasn't the only person in the school who stood a chance at getting into U.A.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya, Sokudo, you wanted to go to U.A., too," the teacher said casually.

Bakugo froze up when he heard that. Midoriya had been writing in his notebook up until he heard his name being called, and he winced when he heard the teacher's words. '_Oh, boy._'

Everyone in the class simply stared at the green-haired boy… before they promptly burst into laughter.

"You're kidding, right, Midoriya?!"

"You can't get into the Hero Course if you're Quirkless!"

Midoriya just sighed as they spoke. "Well, there's no rule against it since they removed it, so I could be the first person to—" He was cut off when Bakugo suddenly slammed his palm into Midoriya's desk and detonated it, destroying the desk and blowing the Quirkless teen backward.

"Listen up, Deku! You're even worse than these rejects, you Quirkless wannabe! Just because you know how to fight doesn't mean you'd stand a chance!" Bakugo yelled. "You really think U.A. would accept _you_ when they could have me?!"

"Honestly, I do." Sokudo's voice cut through the laughter, making it stop as everyone turned to look at him. "I don't see why U.A. would want someone so loud, aggressive, and explosive in more ways than one."

The blond glowered at him. "What was that, Red Eyes?!"

"Oh, it seems you have a hard time listening as well, so I should also remind you that the teacher just said not to use your Quirk in school," the black-haired teen said. "And you're probably going to have to pay for that desk you just broke."

"You shut the hell up or I'll kill you!"

"You'll kill me? Wow, you really aren't helping your case here."

Bakugo was about to pounce at the glasses-wearing teen, but the teacher finally spoke up. "Okay, that's enough. Everyone calm down and go back to your seats."

Bakugo scoffed and glared at Midoriya and Sokudo one last time before he started heading back to his desk, but halfway there, he abruptly tripped and fell to the floor, earning a few snickers from the class. Glaring at the ones who were laughing, he got up and checked the ground, but saw nothing there. '_What the hell did I just trip on?_'

* * *

Class finally ended and everyone was ready to head home. Most of the other students were already leaving the classroom, but Midoriya was waiting for Sokudo to come back from the bathroom. In the meantime, he had packed his friend's things and was browsing through the news on his phone.

"Man, that fight from this morning is all over the news!" the green-haired boy noted. "Better write some notes down before I forget anything." He put his phone away and picked up his notebook, only for it to be snatched out of his hand.

The perpetrator was, of course, none other than Bakugo. "I don't know what you think you're doing, Deku, but we're not done yet," he said.

Bakugo's two lackeys walked up to them. "What's that you got there? His diary?" one of them asked. Bakugo held the book up so they could read the title.

"Huh? Are you actually taking notes on how to be a Hero?"

The two started laughing. "That's so pathetic!"

"He's delusional!"

Midoriya frowned. "Yeah, yeah, now could I please have my notebook back?" he asked.

Rather than give it back, the blond chose to blow it up between his hands, much to Midoriya's dismay. If that wasn't enough, he threw it out the open window behind him, ignoring the cry of alarm from the Quirkless teen.

"Most top-ranked Heroes show potential early on; people look at them and just know they're destined for greatness. I'm going to be the only student from this garbage middle school to get into U.A., so people will start to talk about me like that. They'll realize I'm legit, the next big thing. It's not ego talking, I'm just that good," Bakugo said.

'_Ego~_' his lackeys thought.

Bakugo placed a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, smoke wafting off of it. The green-haired teen flinched but otherwise showed no other reaction. "Here's a little word of advice, nerd," Bakugo went on, smiling maliciously. "Don't bother applying to U.A., or else."

Midoriya kept his head down for a few seconds, making the blond think that he had successfully convinced him not to apply and he turned to leave. He stopped, however, when the green-haired teen spoke up.

"Kacchan… I don't care what you say, I'm applying to U.A. and I'm going to make my dream come true!" Midoriya declared confidently.

Bakugo froze when he heard that before facing Midoriya again with a glare on his face. "Is that so?" His hand sparked and he swung it up to collide with Midoriya's face. Or at least it would've, if something hadn't wrapped around it and held it in place. "Hey! What the—?!" The unknown object pulled his hand back down to his side. He whirled around to face the person responsible. "Who the hell—?!" He stopped, and everyone stared in shock at what they were seeing, though one of them was stunned for a different reason than the others.

Sokudo was standing in the doorway, two vines protruding from his wrists.

Bakugo couldn't say anything before he was completely wrapped up in one of them, his arms at his sides. His two lackeys quickly found themselves in the same situation as the other vine bound both of them together.

"Well said, Izuku," the black-haired boy commended. "Now listen up, Bakugo. We're going to become Heroes and we're going to U.A. to do it. So don't bother trying to 'persuade' us not to, because there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop us!" And with that, he slammed the bullies against the back wall before releasing them. "Come on, Izuku," he said, turning around and walking away.

Wordlessly, Midoriya followed, shooting a nervous glance at his former childhood friend as he exited the room.

* * *

Midoriya and Sokudo left the school and began their walk back home. The two remained silent until the school was behind them, which was when Midoriya finally spoke up.

"Chikara…" The other teen looked at him. "Are you sure that was a good idea? I mean, I'm grateful that you stepped in, but you didn't want to reveal your Elements to anyone…"

Sokudo didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I know… I was trying to hide it from everyone, but I wasn't just going to let him attack you… I probably should've thought about it carefully, but I didn't want to let my friend get hurt."

Midoriya brightened up a bit as he heard Sokudo say that.

"Sure, I would've liked to keep it secret until we made it to U.A., but it's only three more people who know about it. It's not a big deal."

"Okay, as long as you don't have a problem with it…" Midoriya said.

"Oh, that reminds me," Sokudo went on, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out the charred book that was Midoriya's Hero notebook. "I managed to grab this after Bakugo threw it out the window. I would've stepped in sooner, but I wanted to see if you'd stand up to Bakugo."

The Quirkless teen lit up. "Wow, thanks Chikara!" he exclaimed happily as he took the notebook and examined it. Fortunately, the damage done by Bakugo only extended to the front and back covers of the book; the interior was barely touched. He let out a sigh of relief.

"No problem. Now let's get to my house. I'm sure Uncle Taka will want to continue your training," the black-haired teen said as the two walked into a tunnel.

"Right!" Midoriya agreed. However, after they walked a few steps into the tunnel, Sokudo stopped abruptly, which made his friend stop as well. "Huh, what's wrong, Chikara?"

"We're not alone," he said, turning around to look where they came.

Confused, Midoriya followed his gaze and was shocked to see a mass of sludge forming out of the manhole cover they had just walked past. The sludge towered over them before a face could be seen, grinning at them viciously.

"A villain?!" the green-haired teen cried while the other remained silent.

"Oh? Two medium-sized skinsuits! Just my luck!" the Sludge Villain said gleefully before lunging at the pair.

Sokudo reacted instantly. "Izuku, watch out!" he shouted, pushing his friend to the side just as the Sludge Villain crashed down on him.

Midoriya hit the ground, unharmed but horrified at what he saw. "Chikara!"

The Sludge Villain was attempting to smother his captive by forcing his slime into his mouth and nose, laughing as he did so. "I'll be taking your body now! Don't worry, it should only hurt for about 45 seconds, and then it will all be over!" Sokudo struggled in his grasp, trying to pull the slime away from his face, but his hand just sunk uselessly into it, making the villain laugh harder. "Sorry, but that won't work! My body's made of fluid!"

'_I can't get a grip on his body. My Quirk is useless here,_' the black-haired teen thought as he closed his eyes behind his sunglasses. If he could, he would've let out a sigh. '_Guess I have no other choice…_'

"Get away from him!" Midoriya yelled, running toward the Sludge Villain.

"Stay back, kid!" he retorted, a tendril forming from his body and whipping toward him. Caught off-guard and too close to dodge, the Quirkless teen was smacked back into the wall of the tunnel. "I had no idea _he_ was in town. I gotta leave fast before he can find me… so thanks for the help, kid!"

Suddenly, something seemed to change for the villain. As he was pushing his slime down his victim's throat, he started to feel some sort of resistance. The villain tried to push down harder, but out of nowhere, the sludge began to come back _up_, much to his shock. "What the—?!"

His shock only escalated when his sludge came pouring out of Sokudo's mouth—pushed out by a jet of water, followed by the teen letting out a couple of harsh coughs. Before the Sludge Villain could react, Sokudo's entire body became engulfed in water and he blasted himself out of the villain's grasp into the air. Jumping off the ceiling of the tunnel, he quickly landed in front of Midoriya as the water dispersed, slightly splashing the other teen.

The villain turned to face him. "Damn it, brat! Just stay still and let me take your body so I can get out of here!" He lunged at the two of them again.

However, Sokudo was prepared for him this time. With his hands coated in water, he moved them in a circle and then behind his back before thrusting them forward. "**Hydro Pump!**" he yelled, shooting out a large stream of water. Obviously not expecting this, the Sludge Villain was pushed back and pinned to the wall by the torrent.

Midoriya got back to his feet. "Do you think you can hold him for long, Chikara?" he inquired.

"No, but I probably won't have to," Sokudo replied. "Do you remember what he said before?"

Midoriya thought for a moment, and his eyes widened in remembrance. "That's right! Someone's trying to find him! It's gotta be a Hero!"

"That's right. It would certainly explain why he's in such a hurry to get out of here," the black-haired teen said. "If that's the case, then all I have to do is stall him until the Hero shows up."

The Sludge Villain gritted his teeth. "There's no way I'm letting that happen!" he screamed, oozing his body to the left and slowly escaping the rush of water that had him pinned. Sokudo stopped the water once he escaped it. "If I can't take your body, then I'll just kill you two instead!" He charged at the two teens once more.

Sokudo narrowed his eyes. "In that case, I'll have to make sure my next attack puts you out of commission." The water coating his hands spread down his arms, which he held up above his head. "**Water—**"

Before he could finish, the same manhole cover that the Sludge Villain came out of flew into the air, making both parties freeze.

"**Have no fear, you are safe,**" a voice said as a figure came out of the hole. The two teens smiled in relief and awe while the Sludge Villain's eyes widened in horror. "**Now that I am here!**" Indeed, the person standing before them was none other than the Symbol of Peace himself, All Might.

The Sludge Villain growled before swinging a tendril of slime at the Hero, who easily dodged it by ducking underneath the attack. "Damn it! If I'm going down—" He turned his attention to the two teenagers. "—then I'm taking them with me!" And with that, he sent multiple tendrils at the pair.

Sokudo was ready to defend, but it turned out to be unnecessary. As soon as the villain began to move, All Might zoomed forward with his fist cocked back. "**Texas…**" Wind seemed to gather around his fist as he threw it forward. "**…SMASH!**" The wind seemed to _explode_ from his fist as it raced toward the Sludge Villain. The villain struggled to hold himself together, but he was ultimately blown apart by the wind pressure from All Might's attack.

With the villain now defeated, All Might turned his attention to the two civilians. "**Sorry that you two ended up running into him! I'm usually more careful than this, but it turns out this city's sewer system is like a maze! Are you two doing okay?**"

"A-A-All M-M-M—" The poor green-haired boy couldn't handle the shock of seeing his idol in the flesh so suddenly and unexpectedly passed out, startling the Number One Hero.

Sokudo just sighed. "Oh, brother…" he mumbled before he faced All Might. "Sorry about him, he's kind of your biggest fan. I think seeing you in person just overwhelmed him."

All Might let out a hearty laugh. "**No worries, young one! Now if you'll excuse me for a moment…**" Moving quickly, he pulled out two large soda bottles from the bag he was holding, downed their contents, and spent the next couple of minutes rapidly collecting the pieces of sludge scattered and stuffing them into the bottles. Once that was done, the Hero faced Sokudo. "**Now will your friend be alright?**"

"Give me a moment to wake him up. In the meantime…" The black-haired teen looked around before spotting Midoriya's notebook on the ground. He picked it up and held it up to the Symbol of Peace. "…could you please autograph this for him?"

All Might accepted the notebook. "**Of course! Anything for a fan!**" He browsed through the book for an empty page, though he was surprised at the amount of information and analysis for each Pro Hero in the book. "_This is one smart kid. Maybe he has some sort of analysis Quirk?_" the Hero wondered. Finding an empty page, he signed his name in it.

Closing the book, he looked up in time to see Sokudo spray water from his hand onto Midoriya's face. "_So this kid has a water Quirk; makes sense considering how wet the place is. It must be pretty strong._"

The green-haired teen jerked upright, coughing. "W-What was that for, Chikara?!" he questioned.

"It's not my fault you passed out upon seeing All Might in person."

That seemed to jog his memory, and Midoriya looked over to where the Number One Hero was standing. "A-All M-Might!"

"If you pass out again, I'm going to spray you with even more water," Sokudo warned him. Midoriya scrambled to his feet at the threat, though he kept his eyes on the Pro.

"**Thank you both for your help stalling the villain before I arrived! Now he's been safely contained!**" All Might said, holding up two large soda bottles that were filled with sludge, one of them containing the villain's eyeballs.

"_I can't believe the greatest Hero in the world is standing in front of me! He looks way more awesome in person!_" Midoriya thought.

Sokudo was much more composed, but only on the outside. Internally, he was freaking out almost as much as his friend. "_Whoa, I didn't expect All Might to just show up like that! I had thought it would be another Hero, but it was him of all people? Does… Does he even remember me?_"

"Oh, I have to get an autograph! Where's my notebook?! I should also have a pen on me, too!" Midoriya exclaimed, searching through his bag.

"**I believe you're looking for this, young man?**" All Might said, handing the book back to its owner. Midoriya opened it immediately and squealed when he saw the signature. The Quirkless teen bowed repeatedly as he thanked the Pro fervently while All Might secured the villain in his pocket and gave him a thumbs up. "**Anywho, I should take this villain to the police right away. Stay out of trouble, kids. See you around!**"

At that, Midoriya calmed down. "Wait, you're leaving? Already?" he inquired, disappointment in his voice. After all, one didn't get the chance to meet the Number One Hero like this, and the green-haired teen had been hoping to talk to him a little longer.

"**Pro Heroes are always fighting time as well as villains.**"

Sokudo was disappointed too, but he didn't let it show. "I guess… Come on, Izuku, let's start heading to my place. No doubt Uncle Taka will be wondering why we aren't back yet." The black-haired teen turned and began to walk away.

Midoriya hesitated. "_He can't go yet. There are still so many questions I have to ask him!_" he thought. As All Might prepared to jump, Midoriya did the dumbest thing he'd ever done in his life.

"**Alright, stand back. I'm taking off!**" All Might announced before taking a mighty leap into the air. "**Thanks for your continued support!**"

Sokudo turned back to watch the hero go before he noticed something strange. "…Huh? Where'd Izuku go?" he wondered. Looking around, he then looked up into the sky in time to see All Might was now just a twinkle in the sky…

…and his eyes bulged out as he realized exactly where his friend was.

"IZUKU! YOU IDIOT!"

* * *

Meanwhile, All Might had been soaring through the air but quickly noticed something felt off. For some odd reason, his leg felt heavier than normal. Looking down, he quickly saw why that was: the green-haired teen he just saved was hanging on to him.

"**Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?! I love my fans, but this is too much!**" All Might cried, struggling to push him off.

"But we're flying now! If I let go at this height, I'll fall to my death!" Midoriya shouted, making the Pro cease his struggling.

"**Oh, right. Good point.**"

"I just have a lot of questions I want to ask you personally!" Midoriya told him, his voice coming out strange due to the rushing wind blowing his face back. "You're my all-time favorite Hero, so please…!"

"**Alright, I get it! Just please keep your eyes and mouth shut.**" As Midoriya did what All Might said, he didn't notice the cough that came from the Pro, nor the tiny trickle of blood that dripped from his mouth. "_**Crap.**_"

Moments later, All Might found a safe building to land on and dropped down toward it. Once his feet hit solid ground, he placed the Quirkless teen on his feet, and he instantly dropped to his hands and knees. "I think my whole life just flashed before my eyes," Midoriya mumbled.

"**That wasn't very bright, young man,**" All Might reprimanded. "**Bang on the door for a while and someone will let you in.**" He started walking away. "**Now I must get going.**"

That snapped Midoriya back to reality. "W-Wait! One second!"

"**I cannot! I am out of time!**"

"I have to know!" Midoriya shouted. He may have been working on his confidence, but after his encounter with the Sludge Villain, he had felt discouraged by just how little he'd been able to do. If Sokudo and All Might hadn't been there, then he may not have even made it out of that situation alive, and he couldn't just rely on others to save him if he wanted to be the greatest Hero.

It reminded him of everyone who told him that he couldn't achieve that dream; even if a handful of people did believe he could do it, he could only take so much encouragement when everyone else said otherwise.

"Is it possible to become a Hero even if I don't have a Quirk?"

That question finally made All Might pause.

The green-haired teen closed his eyes as he went on. "I'm a normal kid without any powers. But still… could I ever hope to be someone like you?"

The Symbol of Peace turned his head slightly to stare at Midoriya. "You… don't have a Quirk?" Then he tensed as he let out a small gasp, feeling his limit finally being reached. Steam started wafting off his body. "_No, not yet! Damn it!_"

Midoriya continued talking, not noticing what was happening to All Might. "Almost everyone I've met says I can't do it, that not having any powers just makes me weak. My classmates like to make fun of me. But you know what? That makes me want to prove them wrong. And I have one person who does think I can."

The green-haired teen smiled as he thought of Sokudo. "Ever since I was a kid, I thought saving people was the coolest thing you could do. I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe, and be the kind of Hero everyone in the world looks up to!" Finally, Midoriya looked up. "Just like you!"

Then he finally noticed the steam that had now almost entirely cleared away, showing that All Might had now been replaced with an emaciated, skeleton-looking man wearing baggy clothing. The smile on the teen's face vanished as he now sported a look of utter shock.

And then he screamed.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an alleyway, three teenage boys were walking along the path away from their school, one of them drinking a can of soda. All of them still had what just transpired a few minutes ago on their minds.

"Man, that was rough…" the black-haired boy shuddered. "I had no idea Sokudo could be hiding something like that. I wonder why he decided to show it off now?"

"Probably to help Midoriya," the brown-haired boy mused. "You and him used to be friends, right Bakugo? Maybe you were too hard on him this time."

Bakugo finished his soda, his usual scowl on his face. "It's the nerd's fault for getting in my way," he growled, kicking a soda bottle that was lying in his path. "And that bastard thought I wasn't worth showing whatever that was?! I'll kill him!"

"Maybe you should just leave them alone," the brown-haired boy suggested. "Sokudo really only seems to pay attention to you when you approach him or Midoriya."

Bakugo stopped walking as he remembered both Midoriya and Sokudo stand up to him earlier that day. He gritted his teeth as his scowl deepened. "Someone has to teach that worthless nerd how the world works. I hate it when he talks Heroes! And if Red Eyes wants to keep helping him, then I'll put him in his place!" he shouted, exploding the can in his hand and throwing it on the ground.

The two boys just glanced at each other and chuckled before the black-haired one spoke up again. "I got an idea. Why don't we go to the arcade to get them off your mind?"

The blond grunted; he could use a distraction from those two annoyances. "Fine."

"Or we could sneak into the bar at the station and pick up some ladies," the other boy offered with a smirk.

"Now that's a good idea!"

Bakugo didn't agree. "You idiots! If we got caught, then there's no way I'd get into U.A.!"

However, his lackeys had shifted their attention elsewhere, a look of fear on both of their faces. "H-Hey, what's that?!"

Glancing over himself, Bakugo only had enough time to see a giant mouth opened wide and hear someone say, "Perfect! I like a skinsuit with some fire!" before everything went dark for him.

* * *

Sokudo continued walking back to his home, still feeling irritated at his friend's stunt. "_When I see Izuku again, I'm gonna pound him on the head!_" he thought. Despite that, the black-haired teen was not too worried about his friend as he was with the Number One Hero, so he was sure to be safe. Once All Might landed, Izuku would be able to leave and would eventually meet him at his house.

Just then, Sokudo heard the sound of an explosion in the distance. While used to hearing explosions on an almost daily basis, the loudness of this one, even from far away, indicated one thing.

"_Sounds like there may be a villain attack nearby,_" Sokudo thought, breaking into a run. "_Change of plans, then. I should be able to meet up with Izuku there._"

Sokudo arrived at the scene in a matter of minutes; what he saw when he got there left him shocked. Fires were raging everywhere, and a few Heroes were on the scene saving people who were trapped near them. Looking at the center of the street, he grew even more shocked to see the culprit was the Sludge Villain.

"_That guy?! What the hell is he doing here?! Didn't All Might take him down and restrain him in those bottles? How could he possibly have escaped? And more importantly, how could he have started all these fires and done all this damage? Isn't his Quirk just the sludge?_" the glasses-wearing teen wondered.

"Hey, why aren't the Heroes doing anything?" someone asked.

"It seems they've met their match with this guy, plus it looks like he has a hostage," another person answered.

"_A hostage? Are they the one causing all this destruction?_" Taking a closer look, Sokudo could make out a head of hair within the sludge. "_Wait a second, that hair… is that Bakugo?! He's the hostage? Hm, all this chaos makes sense all of a sudden…_" As he watched the blond struggle, he wondered what he should do. "_I may not like the guy, but I don't want him to die… What can I do from here, without anyone noticing?_" After thinking for a few moments, Sokudo started to back up from the crowd, making sure no one was paying attention to him, a task not particularly difficult. He raised a hand and pointed it at the Sludge Villain when he heard someone shout.

"No, you idiot!"

Gazing over to see what the commotion was about, Sokudo's shock increased even further when he saw Izuku running toward the Sludge Villain with a panicked look on his face. "_Izuku?! What is he doing?! He'll get himself killed!_" Hastening his movements, the black-haired teen focused his hand at the villain for a few seconds before snapping his fingers.

Meanwhile, the Quirkless teen continued to charge toward the villain. The Sludge Villain raised an arm to bring down on the boy, but Izuku was quicker, taking his bag off his back and flinging it at the Sludge Villain's face. School supplies flew out of it, a notebook and a couple of pencils flying into the villain's eyes, making him flinch back in pain. This made him lose a bit of concentration and some of the sludge pulled away from Bakugo's face, finally allowing him to breathe.

"Kacchan!" Izuku cried, reaching him and attempting to pull the sludge away from his body to free him, despite how ineffective the tactic was.

"What the hell are you doing here, Deku?!" Bakugo screamed.

"I don't know! My legs just moved on their own!" Izuku shouted, continuing in vain to pull the sludge away. Even with what All Might told him on the rooftop, the green-haired teen knew he couldn't give up on his dream, despite almost everyone telling him it just wasn't possible. If he did, then the people who made an effort to help him would have just been wasting their time.

With that in mind, Izuku put on a shaky smile. "Kacchan, I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"

His actions shocked All Might, who had been watching from the back of the crowd in his true form. More than that, they spurred him to finally act himself as he started to shift into his muscle form. "_I have to do something, no matter the cost!_"

Before any more words could be said, a drop of rain fell from the sky, hitting the sludge. It was quickly followed by more until a small downpour came down from a cloud that mysteriously appeared over the villain, much to everyone's confusion and surprise.

"What the—rain?" Death Arms questioned. He turned to the Hero dressed as a firefighter. "Is this your doing, Backdraft?"

"Not me!" the Hero in question answered. "I can't do anything like that!"

"Rain?" Izuku muttered as he watched the downpour, eyes widening slightly. "Sokudo…"

"Argh! Dammit!" the Sludge Villain yelled. The heavy rain coming down on him was making it hard for him to keep himself together. His sludge was gradually sliding off of Bakugo's face, allowing him to take in another breath. Seeing this, the villain grew angrier as he held up a slimy tendril that was barely staying intact, preparing to bring it down on Midoriya. "I don't plan on going down without bringing down at least one of you brats!"

This finally made the other Pros jump into action. "Save the boy! It'll kill him!" Death Arms shouted as they all leaped to try and reach the green-haired teen in time. Izuku tensed up, ready to dodge the tendril, but something jumped in front of him before he could move. The attack smashed down, causing a cloud of dust to rise.

In a matter of seconds, the dust faded, allowing Izuku to see that All Might had been the one to jump in front of him, blocking the villain's blow. "**I really am pathetic…**" he said.

"All Might…" Izuku gasped.

"**I told you the traits of being a great Hero, and yet I wasn't even practicing what I was saying!**" the Hero went on, easily breaking through the sludge clinging to him with his immense strength. Grabbing Bakugo's arm, exposed now thanks to the rain, and Izuku's wrist in his left hand, he wound back his right fist as he charged power into it. "**The true mark of a Hero… is a Pro willing to risk their life to save people!**"

"Damn you, All Might!" the Sludge Villain yelled, trying to raise another tendril to strike the Hero in a last-ditch attempt, but not succeeding as he was falling apart more steadily.

"**Detroit… SMASH!**" the Symbol of Peace shouted as he threw his fist forward, not making contact with the villain, yet still generating enough wind pressure to blow away his body. The wind also blew away the small rain cloud that had formed above the Sludge Villain as well as all the fires he had caused, while Mt. Lady managed to protect the onlookers by shielding them with her giant arms.

All Might's punch was so powerful that it created a massive twister that extended into the sky, eventually dispersing into nothing. It was completely silent for the next few seconds as the sky began to darken and rain started to pour down, lighter than the cloud that had been hanging over the Sludge Villain but encompassing a much wider range.

Everyone stared upward in surprise. "It's raining," someone noted.

"Don't tell me all that wind just now was…"

"Look, the clouds are moving!" someone else pointed out.

Death Arms gazed at All Might in awe. "_Holy crap, he changed the weather,_" he thought.

A trickle of blood could be seen coming from All Might's mouth, which he wiped away before anyone could see it. As the Hero stood tall, it finally started to dawn on everyone that All Might had just saved the day spectacularly.

"Did that just happen?"

"He changed the weather with a single punch like it was nothing!"

"All Might saved the day again! He's amazing!"

At the back of the crowd, Sokudo sighed in relief. "_Thank goodness he came back. I was worried I would have to jump in,_" he thought.

All Might slowly lifted his arm into the air to signify his victory while everyone cheered. He glanced down at the unconscious boys, specifically at Midoriya.

* * *

With the threat finally taken care of, the Heroes were able to collect all of the sludge, keeping it in several trash bags as the police came to take him into custody. Of course, with All Might having saved the day, many reporters came to take pictures and ask questions of him. Midoriya and Bakugo regained consciousness shortly afterward, and once they were checked over to make sure they were fine, the two teens were taken away by different Heroes. Bakugo was being praised for his bravery in holding out so long against the villain, as well as his powerful Quirk, while Izuku…

"You moron! Do you have a death wish?!" an irate Kamui Woods asked.

"There was absolutely no reason for you to put yourself in danger like that!" Death Arms reprimanded.

…was being chewed out by the Pros. It didn't last long, as someone called out to him.

"Izuku!" Looking over, the Quirkless teen spotted his best friend approaching him with a worried expression on his face (at least he thought it was worry; it was never easy to tell with Sokudo due to his glasses). Once he reached him, he checked him over. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-No, don't worry, Chikara. I'm alright," Midoriya told him.

Sokudo let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. Come on, it's too late to head over to my house so I'll walk you home. Your mom is probably worried about you." Taking his wrist, the two started walking away.

"Hey, hold on a second! We're not finished yet!" the Punching Hero shouted.

Sokudo stopped, turning his head to face him with a raised brow. "Hm? Not finished with what?"

"With scolding this young boy for recklessly jumping into the situation and almost getting killed!" Kamui Woods stated.

The glasses-wearing teen's brow came down as he narrowed his eyes. "Oh, really? 'Cause the way I see it, he only jumped in because _you_ guys weren't doing your jobs. Almost getting killed? It probably wouldn't have even been an issue if you guys had been doing what _he_ did. As All Might said, a true Hero is one willing to risk their life to save people." And with that said, he continued on his way, dragging Midoriya along with him and leaving the Pros speechless.

A few minutes had passed as the two headed to Midoriya's home. As they walked, the green-haired teen spoke up. "Hey Chikara, do you think you were a bit harsh to the Pros?"

"Nah, I was just stating the facts," Sokudo waved him off. "More importantly, you did pretty well, Izuku." The black-haired teen smiled at him as he lifted his hand above his friend's head. "Way to go."

Izuku smiled at his praise… and then it promptly went away when Sokudo's hand closed into a fist and he swiftly brought it down on the Quirkless teen's head hard. "OW! What was that for, Chikara?!"

"Just because I'm proud of you doesn't mean I'm still not pissed about your stunt! I thought you hit your quota for stupid things today after you grabbed onto All Might when he jumped off, then you go and do that! You're lucky I'm not in a bad mood or else you'd be getting two punches!" Sokudo ranted.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Midoriya quickly apologized, not wanting to feel his wrath any more than he already had. The black-haired teen was incredibly strong even when he wasn't using his Quirk, and his punches _hurt_.

Before anything else could be said between the two, a new voice called out to them. "Deku!"

The two turned to face the angry voice, seeing it was Bakugo running up to them. "Kacchan?" Izuku questioned.

The blond stopped and took a few seconds to catch his breath before he spoke. "You listen up… I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me! Don't think you can look down on me, you got that? I was doing fine by myself! You're just a Quirkless failure who couldn't even make it as a rent-a-cop! You didn't help me, alright?! I don't owe you anything!" Then he pointed to the glasses-wearing teen. "And I don't care how many powers you have, Red Eyes, I'm still going to kick your ass!" And with all that said, he turned around and started stomping away.

The two friends sweatdropped at his rant. "Did he seriously chase us this far to tell us that?" Sokudo questioned. "What a weird way to say thank you."

"You think he was trying to thank us?" Izuku asked with surprise.

"That's what it sounded like to me." Sokudo shrugged. "Anyway, I think you can get back to your house fine from here, so I'm going to head back home. See you tomorrow, Izuku." The black-haired teen waved as he left the Quirkless teen by himself. Right before he left, he turned back and added, "Oh, and try not to pass out this time."

"Yeah, see you—wait, what?" Midoriya replied, puzzled. His friend said nothing more, just leaving to go back to his home, so he shrugged and continued heading home, only to be stopped when a towering figure suddenly dashed out in front of him.

"**I AM HERE!**" the Number One Hero announced.

The abruptness of his appearance caught Izuku off guard, making him let out a scream. "All Might?! What are you doing here? Weren't you surrounded by all of those reporters back there?!" Then he remembered Sokudo's parting words. "_Did he know All Might was here?!_"

All Might laughed heartily. "**I stand for justice, not sound bytes!**" He settled into a flexing pose. "**Because I am All Migh—**bleeegh!" Halfway through his words, the Hero abruptly shifted back to his true form, spewing up blood. The unexpected change coupled with the blood made Midoriya scream again.

After the Hero had caught his breath and the Quirkless teen calmed down, All Might began to speak. "Young man, I came to thank you, as well as to discuss your earlier question. If you hadn't told me about your life… if you hadn't run into that fight… I would have just been another bystander watching from the crowd. So thank you."

"Oh no, I'm the reason he was there in the first place!" Izuku argued. "I got in the way of your hard work and wasted your time and energy…"

"I'm not finished. You told me you didn't have a Quirk… so when I saw this timid, Quirkless boy try to save a life, it inspired me to act, too." Izuku gasped at that as All Might went on. "There are stories about every Hero and how they became great. Most of them have one thing in common: their bodies moved before they could think, almost on their own." The green-haired teen's eyes shone in awe as water started to gather in them. "And today, that's what happened to you." Tears started to trickle out of the teen's eyes as All Might finally said what he had been building up to. "Young man, you _can_ become a Hero!"

The tears poured out of Izuku's eyes harder as he smiled brightly, remembering how until 2 years ago, no one believed he could be a Hero without a Quirk. Now that he had someone who did, he would always believe it himself, no matter what anyone else said. And now even the Number One Hero thought he could do it. Any lingering doubts he may have had after their first meeting had been swiftly chased away, and now Izuku was filled with so much happiness he felt he may burst.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, someone was listening in on their conversation. Standing in the shadows of an alleyway right around the corner, Sokudo was leaning against a wall as he listened to them talk. Of course, he had been stunned by All Might's true form for a while, though with how quickly Izuku got over it, he suspected his friend had found this out when he grabbed All Might earlier. He continued listening until he heard the Pro say that he believed Izuku could be a Hero, which made him grin. "Way to go, Izuku," he mumbled as he stood up and walked off.

* * *

**And done! Wow, that was a lot tougher than I thought it would be!**

**So yeah, Sokudo has taken Izuku in and helped him learn how to fight. He's a bit more in shape and more confident now. Does this mean it will take less time for him to clean up the beach? You'll have to wait and see!**

**Sokudo appears to have some extra abilities, a power he refers to as Element. Looks like the title is making more sense now… But where did he get them? And when has he met All Might, hm? That's something else that will be revealed in the future!**

**All in all, not too much was different from canon, but not everything was the same either. Next chapter, I may skip Izuku's training or at the very least go over it briefly, and it may have the Entrance Exam, but we'll see.**

**And now for why this chapter took so long to complete. I got a job last year in October, and I used to have a steady schedule for when I was supposed to work, but now my schedule has been thrown out of wack. Now I can never guess what days I'll be working every week and when, and occasionally I get called in to work on a day that I'm not supposed to work, like yesterday, when I planned to finish this chapter.**

**In addition to that, I also started college back in January, and I had four classes to take. My Government teacher saw fit to give us homework to complete by the end of every week, while my other classes handed it out more sporadically, and I constantly had to plan out when I was going to do what. Homework seemed to be handed out even more so after classes went online. I missed a few assignments but overall didn't do too badly this semester.**

**However, even though it ended back in May, I now have to take **_**summer**_** classes as well, and my first one, for Speech, starts tomorrow. This class will be running for **_**every day**_** until July 1****st****, and then I have another class after that, History, while also having to work at my job. So yeah, you can see why it took so long, and I'm going to be pretty busy these next couple of months.**

**Alright, that should be everything I have to say now. Next, I will be working on the next chapter of RWBBY – The Shapeshifter, because that story is in desperate need of some attention.**

**Remember to favorite, follow, and review! Sparky D., out!**


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